oblomov ivan

by goncharov • 1859

First published 150 years ago, Ivan Goncharov's Oblomov is and undisputed classic of Russian literature, the artistic stature and cultural significance of which have been compared to such master pieces as Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Fyodor Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov. Until now, no English-language edition has done justice to this astonishing, sidesplitting, and deeply poignant novel. Years in preparation, Stephan Pearl's landmark translation, with its innovative lexicon, pitch-perfect ear for dialect and colloquial speech, and superb prose styling, allows today's reader to appreciate Oblomov at new heights of emotional, ironic, and comic satisfaction. Set in Petersburg, Russia, this is the story of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, an amiable, thirty-something underachiever, who lives in an apartment with his life-long with his life-long servant, Zakhar. Oblomov rarely changes out of his dressing gown, spending his days drifting in and out of sleep, dreaming of his idyllic childhood on his ancestral estate, Oblomovka. His boyhood friend, Stoltz, motivated accomplished, and always alert, often visits Oblomov. When Stoltz introduces him to the beautiful and cultured Olga, Oblomov moves to the country to be near her. Olga is soon smitten with the lovable Oblomov but is determined to change him into a man in action.